AMES — U.S. Senator Joni Ernst will host her fourth and final annual Entrepreneur Expo at Iowa State University on Tuesday, June 30, bringing Iowa small business owners together with federal marketplace experts, agency representatives and innovation leaders.
Ernst, a Republican from Iowa and chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, said this year’s event will focus on helping Iowa businesses understand how they can compete for federal contracts and support national defense needs.
The theme is “Made in Iowa: Ready for the Mission.”
“This year’s theme is ‘Made in Iowa: Ready for the Mission’ to spotlight how Iowa small businesses can support our warfighters, advance U.S. national security, and contribute to a mission-ready America,” Ernst said. “I’m honored to connect Iowa’s entrepreneurs and job creators and provide them with the ins and outs of federal opportunities.”
The event will be held at Iowa State University’s Scheman Building, 1805 Center Drive, in Ames. Registration is scheduled from 8:00 to 9:00 AM, followed by opening remarks and programming throughout the day.
The expo is designed to help small businesses learn how to sell goods and services to the federal government, which buys everything from construction and technology services to manufacturing, food, logistics, research, equipment and professional services.
That matters for Iowa entrepreneurs because the federal government is one of the largest buyers in the world. The U.S. Small Business Administration says the federal government contracts with small businesses to buy products and services, and small firms received more than $183 billion in federal prime contracts in fiscal year 2024.
Small business contracting is also a major policy focus in Washington. Federal contracting officers use SBA programs to help meet the governmentwide goal of awarding at least 23% of federal contract dollars to small businesses. Those opportunities can include prime contracts, subcontracting, set-aside contracts and innovation-focused programs.
For rural states like Iowa, access to the federal marketplace can be especially important. A small manufacturer, software firm, construction company, food producer, veteran-owned business, woman-owned business or agricultural technology startup may be able to grow by selling to agencies that need reliable suppliers outside major coastal markets.
Ernst’s office said the event will offer networking opportunities and hands-on instruction for Iowa businesses seeking to understand the federal marketplace. Over the past three years, hundreds of Iowans and representatives from 40 federal agency departments and state entities have connected through the expo.
This year’s defense-focused theme also reflects the growing connection between small business innovation and national security. Small companies often play a role in developing specialized technologies, manufactured components, supply-chain solutions and services used by the military and federal agencies.
The expo comes as Iowa’s entrepreneurial support network continues to grow through university programs, local economic-development organizations, small business centers, accelerators and community lenders. For many entrepreneurs, the challenge is not only building a product or service, but also learning how to navigate government procurement systems, meet eligibility requirements and find the right contracting opportunities.
Small business owners interested in attending can RSVP through Senator Ernst’s office.